West Shore RCMP investigating cyber fraud

West Shore RCMP are investigating reports of cyber fraud after receiving complaints from West Shore businesses.

Police said in the last four months they have received two complaints relating to cyber fraud. Both complaints were from businesses in the West Shore who said their IT systems were breached and financial accounts were compromised.

According to police, the attack on the IT systems came via e-mail. An unknown party assumed the e-mail of the business manager and sent e-mails to the accounting department, ordering wire transfers to third party accounts.

Police said the two businesses that complained are not related to each other but both reported that a foreign IP address was detected within their systems. The IP address created or attempted to create fraudulent payments.

Access to the systems likely came through unsolicited e-mails, according to police.

Police said the intent behind the breach of the IT systems was to export money from the business account to an account in another country like the U.S.A or Nigeria.

“The potential for loss is huge and we would like to remind the public to be vigilant in vetting incoming e-mails,” said Cst. Nancy Saggar of West Shore RCMP. “If you don’t recognize the sender don’t open the e-mail or respond to it. Keep your passwords safe and it’s a good idea to change them frequently.”